


Communication is Key

by Eien_Ni



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, Communication, Lack of Communication, M/M, Misunderstandings, human!zeb, kalluzeb - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24618994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eien_Ni/pseuds/Eien_Ni
Summary: “Misunderstandings are a normal part of life, and the outcomes of these depend upon how we choose to react to them.”― C. JoyBell C.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	Communication is Key

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sempaiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sempaiko/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Soy Triple Berry Passion Tea with Extra Vanilla](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421868) by [sempaiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sempaiko/pseuds/sempaiko). 



> Title from: “A lot of disagreements are born from misunderstandings. Communication is key.”  
> ― Akiroq Brost

Kallus sighed as he finished wiping the counter down. A customer, a boy with dark blue hair, had dropped his drink on the counter, sending it everywhere, and while Kallus had quickly mopped the liquid up before remaking the drink, it had left a sticky residue on the counter.

He rinsed the cloth out, glancing over at the corner booth where he could see Zeb greeting the boy with a hug. That must be Ezra, he realized, grinning to himself as he watched Zeb ruffle up the boy’s hair.

Zeb had arrived twenty minutes ago, but the two of them hadn’t had much time to talk aside from comparing schedules for the night. Zeb had an art show to go to in support of Sabine. The show was from 6-9 that night, but since the location was only an hour away, they’d decided to forgo having Zeb spend the night.

Kallus watched Zeb and Ezra interact, struggling to hold back a smile when he saw Ezra with a math book and paper in front of him, Zeb patiently pointing out the steps to take when Ezra became frustrated. Kallus knew from his and Zeb’s first night together that Zeb was patient and kind, but seeing him direct it towards someone else made him smile. His reverie was cut short by the bell above the door, and he focused his attention on his job.

The next twenty minutes passed by in a whirlwind of customers, and he was unable to sneak any more looks at Zeb. He had just finished passing out the last drink when he heard a voice behind him.

“Excuse me.”

Kallus glanced over to see Ezra. “How may I help you?”

The kid leaned closer, practically lying on the counter on his belly, and Kallus raised an eyebrow when he was beckoned over.

“My friend keeps looking over at you,” he said in a conspiratorial tone, “and I was wondering if you would be interested in giving him your number?”

Kallus blinked. That… was not what he’d been expecting. He frowned and looked over at Zeb, who was currently scrolling through something on his phone, then back at the kid. Was this some kind of joke? Zeb already had his number, so there was no reason for Ezra to be asking for it.

Unless…

Kallus’ heart sank.

Unless Zeb hadn’t told anyone that they were seeing each other.

There were likely a million reasons why Zeb hadn’t mentioned anything about Kallus to his friends, but the only one that came to mind was that he wasn’t important enough to mention. Ignoring the pang of hurt in his chest, Kallus swallowed and looked at the kid, who still looked hopeful despite the long pause.

“Sorry,” Kallus said, shaking his head, “I’m seeing someone right now.”

“Oh.” The boy visibly deflated, shoulders slumping. “Well, thanks, anyway.”

Kallus watched as Ezra headed back to the table, catching Zeb’s attention as he slid into his seat. Kallus quickly looked away. His heart felt heavy. When Zeb and the kid got up to leave a few minutes later, Kallus made sure that he was busy scrubbing the counter furiously, gaze focused on the non-existent stain.

\----------

Zeb’s text that night went unanswered.

\---------

The next day, Zeb came in alone. Kallus had been keeping a careful eye on the time, knowing Zeb’s schedule. When the other man stepped up to the counter, Kallus gave him a generic customer service smile.

“Hello,” he said quietly as he warred with himself. He wanted to confront Zeb, demand to know why his friends didn’t know they were dating, but he was at work, and a conversation like that one needed to be private. For now, he would be polite, if a bit aloof.

Zeb grinned widely. “Hello, yourself. Seein’ yer face is the highlight of my mornin’.”

Kallus couldn’t stop himself from laughing, tapping in Zeb’s order. “I thought that was the soy triple berry passion tea with extra vanilla.”

“Nah, that’s just a perk.” Zeb handed over his card, continuing to lean against the counter, as though he wanted to be as close as possible to Kallus.

What else did Zeb consider a perk, Kallus wondered before shaking himself and giving the card back, shivering as their fingers brushed. He shouldn’t doubt Zeb’s sincerity. Not yet, not until he knew why Zeb’s friends didn’t know about them.

He turned to make Zeb’s drink. He had the awful feeling that he was making things awkward, and Zeb would notice, which would lead to the conversation that he was dreading. He desperately tried to think of a safe topic, finally landing on, “So how was your night?”

“Eh,” Zeb said noncommittally. “Nice relaxin’ night. Sabine’s art show went well. She’s got real talent.”

“Good for her.” It was on the top of his tongue to tell Zeb to tell Sabine to keep practicing, to not give up on her dreams, but he bit it back. Sabine didn’t know about him, after all, so the sentiment would be lost. What, exactly, would Zeb say - the barista at I.S.B. said to follow your dreams.

Kallus snorted. That would go over really well.

“Was your night okay?” Zeb asked.

“I made it an early night,” Kallus said, which technically wasn’t a lie. He had gone to bed earlier than normal, even though he hadn’t fallen asleep any sooner.

The drink was soon finished, and Kallus passed it over to Zeb. He looked up, and their gazes caught. Kallus’ breath hitched at the look in Zeb’s eye, the look that said he wanted nothing more than to drag Kallus close and have his wicked way with him. And while that look sent his blood to a certain part of his anatomy, he was left with a cold feeling.

“We need to talk,” Kallus blurted at the same time as Zeb said, “I have a question.”

They both paused, Kallus biting his lip before nodding at Zeb. “You go first.”

“So,” Zeb began, and Kallus took note of how he looked everywhere except at him, and how his hands were fiddling almost nervously with the cup, “this Friday marks another year that Phoenix Gym has been open. Kanan and Hera are havin’ a bar-b-que to celebrate. Nothin’ fancy, just the two of them, Sabine and Ezra, me. I was wonderin’ if you’d be interested in comin’.”

Kallus blinked, mouth dropping open, but Zeb either didn’t see or didn’t care and kept talking. Kallus swept the store with his eyes quickly, but the few customers sitting down were preoccupied with their own things.

“Ya haven’t met ‘em yet, an’ I know that we’ve been datin’ fer a few weeks now,” Zeb continued, words coming out in a rush. “An’ that’s all on me. I love ‘em all. They’re great, real supportive, but they can be a bit much sometimes. Ya know, in terms of teasin’ an’ everythin’. I know when we first started this, you said that it wasn’t what you normally did, an’ I thought that maybe it would be easier on you if we took it slow. The meetin’ the friends part,” Zeb amended quickly at Kallus’ raised eyebrow. “Not the sex part.”

Blowing out a breath, Kallus raked a hand through his hair before folding his arms. He looked down at his feet, hip pressing against the counter. “I realized yesterday that you hadn’t told your friends. I didn’t know why.”

Zeb winced. “Yeah, Ezra told me that he asked fer your number so he could give it to me. I shoulda mentioned you to them sooner. I just don’t want ya to think that I want to keep you a secret.” There was a pause, then, “I was gonna talk to ya about it last night, but ya never answered my text.”

Kallus flushed, gritting his teeth. “Yes, avoiding your text was childish of me, I admit.”

“But understandable.”

At that, Kallus jerked his head up, eyes wide. “You’re not mad?”

Zeb shook his head, eyes crinkling as he smiled fondly. “How could I be mad at ya? Honestly, this was all just a big misunderstanding.”

Tension drained from Kallus’ body, and he slumped, moving a hand to rest it on the counter, halfway between them. “I thought maybe I wasn’t important enough to talk about.”

“Alex.” Zeb reached out and took Kallus’ hand, squeezing tightly. “You’re important. I’m sorry I made ya feel like ya weren’t. An’ I hope that next time somethin’ like this happens, you’re comfortable enough to talk to me ‘bout it. I really like ya and what we have.”

“I really like you, too,” Kallus murmured, finally meeting Zeb’s eyes and giving him a genuine smile. “And I would love to meet your friends this Friday.”

“Good. I’ll, uh, make sure I have all the details an’ then let ya know the time.” Zeb gave a decisive nod, and Kallus grinned.

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. He gave one last squeeze to Zeb’s fingers before releasing his hand, already missing the contact. “I need to get back to work.” He tilted his head towards the couple that had just walked in and were conversing quietly as they studied the menu.

“Oh! Yeah. Right. I need to be goin’, too. I’ll drop by tonight, regular time?” Zeb said hopefully, searching Kallus’ gaze.

“Regular time,” Kallus murmured, nodding. He was loathe to leave Zeb’s side, but the customers had stepped up to the register. He took a step away. “See you later.”

“Later.” Zeb waved a hand and was gone.

“New romance?” One of the women asked slyly, winking at Kallus as he came over.

Kallus blushed and ducked his head. “I suppose it’s a bit obvious, isn’t it.”

“But sweet,” the other woman assured him before slapping a hand across her girlfriend’s mouth when she went to speak. “Don’t mind her. Hopeless romantic, she is.”

Kallus bit his lip to hide a smile. “What can I get for the two of you?”

Within a few minutes, Kallus had their order prepared, and he smiled as he handed their drinks over. “Have a good day.”

“You two,” Hopeless Romantic said as they were leaving, “and good luck.”

Just then, Kallus’ phone buzzed, and he surreptitiously looked at it.

It was from Zeb. _Looking forward to tonight._

_Me, too,_ Kallus sent back, feeling warmer than he had all day.


End file.
